IS132-L TERM PAPER ARTICLE

Noel D. Basañez Jr.

Information Systems, Mapua University Makati, maui0100000@gmail.com

Angelica Rose D. Bauzon

Information Systems, Mapua University Makati, angelicabauzon15@gmail.com

Ashly Mariel C. Cruz

Information Systems, Mapua University Makati, ashlycrz14@gmail.com

Kathleen R. Santos

Information Systems, Mapua University Makati, kathleensantos868@gmail.com

Tristan Andrei T. Saura

Information Systems, Mapua University Makati, tsaura6@gmail.com

Abstract

This paper identified that the problem present in SURSECO-I’s current payment process

lacks automation that branches out to different problems which includes the long waiting time of

SURSECO’s customers. The current and traditional process of SURSECO was efficient before

the quarantine, since the outbreak of the virus, a lot have changed and we should adapt and

adjust to these changes. For the customers of SURSECO to be prevented in acquiring the virus

by not going out of their homes just to pay their bills, an online payment system is the solution,

not time-consuming and no distance will be traveled.

CCS Concepts

• Information Systems • Database Management Systems • System Analysis and Design

Keywords

Online Payment System, Current Payment Process, Automation, Payment Option

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I. Introduction

Company Background

Surigao del Sur I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SURSECO I) is an electric distribution

utility created and organized by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended. It has been in

service since July 20, 1971 when it obtained its registration with the National Electrification

Administration, a government agency specially created to implement and supervise the total

electrification program of the government.

It serves the franchise of one (1) city and four (4) municipalities within the first district of

Surigao del Sur namely: Bislig City, Barobo, Hinatuan, Tagbina and Lingig with a total of

32,955 active service connections as of December 31, 2008. Committed to fulfill its mandate of

total electrification, it has completely energized the 138 barangays within its coverage area and is

relentlessly pursuing the energization of farflung sitios through government subsidies.

As an electric distribution utility, it draws power from the National Power Corporation

(NPC) through the transmission facilities of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines

(NGCP). It operates and distributes power to its customers with three (3) sub-stations located in

Barangays Tabon and San Fernando, all of Bislig City, and in the Municipality of Barobo.

Customer satisfaction is SURSECO I’s primary concern thus technology innovations are

in place. The Psion Read and Bill System designed for an automatic printing and delivery of

electric bill immediately after the reading of the meter; and, the fully automated Tellering

System which speed-up the collection process are just some of the technology installed in order

to offer prompt and accurate service.

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Gaining the Category A+ (the highest performance award accorded by NEA to electric

cooperatives) and classified as Extra Large distribution utility as well as being acclaimed as

“Outstanding Electric Cooperative” evidently bespeak of its commitment and fervor to perform

with utmost professionalism and excellence (Surigao del Sur I Electric Cooperative, Inc., 2018).

Situational and Problem Analysis

Currently SURSECO-I conforms to the traditional way of paying. The present payment

process of SURSECO-I lacks automation, which demands consumers to manually pay for their

bills, requiring consumers to go to the nearest branch. Considering SURSECO-I conforming to

manual payments, employees such as the tellers are the ones that receive the payment, and give

out the payment receipt to the consumers.

Problems with the current system include

● the present payment process is time consuming and inefficient

● customers experience difficulty in paying due to manual payment

● long waiting time when paying bills

● does not provide other payment options; and

● does not cater the preferred payment options of the customers

Living in an era with countless technological innovations and advancements, paying

online is one of the technologies provided to offer convenience to the public. Thus, the new

system should allow customers to pay online, providing the customers a fast-moving and

convenient way of paying electricity bills.

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II. Methodology

The research design for this study is a qualitative study. The researcher used this type of

design to be able to conduct thorough understanding of the problem in the company’s process.

This design has advantages for the study such as being able to give context to the problem that

the company has that numbers cannot. This is very helpful information that the researchers are

able to take advantage of.

The method that is used for data gathering is an open-ended questionnaire. In this type of

data gathering method the participants are asked questions and they have the freedom to answer

freely and have more control over the closed-ended questions. The customers of SURSECO – I

are asked with questionnaires and have been transcribed and analyzed by the researcher. As for

the sampling methods, the researchers used the convenience sampling methods. This is because

of the pandemic and limited resources that the researchers have. Also the researchers are not able

to conduct any other sampling methods because of said reasons.

III. Review of Related Studies

The Emergence of Payment Systems

According to Sumanjeet (2009), technology has inarguably made our lives easier. It

has cut across distance, space and even time. Electronic Payments (e-payments) refers to the

technological breakthrough that enables us to perform financial transactions electronically,

thus avoiding long lines and other hassles. Electronic Payments provides greater freedom to

individuals in paying their taxes, licenses, fees, fines and purchases at unconventional

locations and at whichever time of the day, 365 days of the year. Added to this, success of e-

commerce payment systems also depends on consumer preferences, ease of use, cost, industry

agreement, authorization, security, authentication, non-refutability, accessibility and reliability

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and anonymity and public policy. Alongside the convenience and the efficiency that electronic or

online payment offers, it comes with its consequences prominently risking your personal

information.

The effects of COVID-19 Pandemic to businesses

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has forced many businesses to close, leading to an

unprecedented disruption of commerce in most industry sectors. Retailers and brands face many

short-term challenges, such as those related to health and safety, the supply chain, the work

force, cashflow, consumer demand, sales, and marketing. However, successfully navigating these

challenges will not guarantee a promising future, or any future at all. This is because once we get

through this pandemic, we will emerge in a very different world compared to the one before the

outbreak. Many markets, especially in the fields of tourism and hospitality, no longer exist. All

organizational functions are intended to prioritize and optimize spending or postpone tasks that

will not bring value in the current environment. Companies, especially start-ups, have

implemented an indefinite hiring freeze. At the same time, online communication, online

entertainment, and online shopping are seeing unprecedented growth (Donthu & Gustafsson,

2020).

Moreover, the said pandemic has forced many to settle bills electronically. The Bangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has noted a huge surge in online transactions in the past few months,

which boosted its confidence in achieving its goal of having 50 percent of payment transactions

shift from cash or checks to digital by 2023. Two electronic fund transfer services, InstaPay and

PESONet, saw a combined increase of 2.13 million transactions or 18 percent growth and 64.62

billion pesos ($1.3 billion) or 25 percent increase in value during the initial 45-day lockdown

from mid-March to April 30 compared with the same period in 2019. Hence, according to BSP,
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the volume and value of InstaPay and PESONet transactions rose by 84 percent and 24 percent,

respectively during the full months of April and May. InstaPay is a real-time transfer service

which facilitates urgent and small value transactions with a cap of 50,000 pesos per day, while

PESONet is for high-value transactions of businesses, government agencies and individuals with

no transaction limit (Basingan, 2020).

Globe Telecom's GCash, the country's largest provider of mobile money services, also

reported a rise in mobile transaction activity during the pandemic, in which its registered users

soared to 150% from March to April. Pebbles Sy, chief technology and operations officer at

Globe Fintech Innovations, or Mynt, which operates the GCash service, said in mid-May, "In a

world where digital is the new normal, financial technology should be considered the bedrock of

digital services. Aside from the convenience, it is also less risky than cash handling, more

efficient than physical payments, and is also very transparent." In addition, GCash has reported

an eightfold increase in total amount of payments made on its platform from a year ago (Endo,

2020).

Adapting to the new normal

While the post COVID-19 future remains uncertain, it is clear that information systems

and information management will be at the heart of the global recovery. IS scholars have an

essential role in providing timely research insights that can help shape this future, hopefully

leading to a better world (Coombs, 2020).

Due to the recent circumstances and the lack of business to fully operate, work from

home was implemented. This is the result of the pandemic worsening and everyone is forced to

stay home. Creative solutions were made by businesses like contact less delivery, online

shopping, and so much more.

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Based on google trends, the questions such as how to view meralco bill online, how to

check meralco bill online 2020, and how to pay meralco bill were some of the searches that were

asked often during the lockdown period.

IV. Results and Discussion

Systems Analysis

SURSECO-I has been in the service of its customers for almost 50 years now.

Throughout this five-decade span, SURSECO-I has always done their transactions with their

customers physically/face-to-face. While there is nothing wrong with this practice, it cannot be

denied that some changes are necessary for businesses moving forward.

Through basic research, the researchers found out that the breadwinners of many

households are now from the Gen Y, or more famously known as Millennials. Given this

demographic, it can be inferred that SURSECO-I's main customers are now from generations

who are heavily dependent on technology, the internet, and their smartphones. With this

information, the researchers have understood the need for automation in the company's

electricity bills payment process. By creating a system for customers to be able to pay their

electricity bills online through their smartphones and PCs, SURSECO-I will hopefully have a

more effective and efficient electricity bills payment process. Moreover, this would give

SURSECO-I more value and this would boost their image and reputation among their customers.

Lastly, with this, SURSECO-I will become a part of the future of business transactions - that is

FULLY ONLINE.
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Systems Design

The researchers found out that the current system design of SURSECO-I is well-suited

only for face-to-face transactions. The current system design of SURSECO-I’s payment process

involves the customer going physically to a SURSECO-I office, waiting in line for his turn to

pay, and finally paying his household’s electricity bill to the teller. While this manual process of

paying is very common, and while there is nothing wrong with paying one’s electricity bills face-

to-face, we have to accept that the world is constantly and rapidly changing. There is no denying

that the rise of technological advancements and the emergence of online payment systems will

only push businesses to move forward and improve their business processes. Moreover, the

COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted many businesses, even forcing many from the

retail industry to shut down. For utility businesses like SURSECO-I, who have very slim chances

of shutting down since they provide necessary services to their customers, they experience the

negative impacts of the pandemic in their daily transactions with their customers. Since there is a

need for social distancing as a health and safety protocol, SURSECO-I can now only entertain a

certain number of customers per day. This can also be a hassle for SURSECO-I’s consumers

since paying their electricity bills physically in a SURSECO-I office in our current situation

means having to spend much time on longer lines (due to social distancing) and risking their

health by being in close contact with other people. Hence, the need for improvement in the

company's business processes, especially in the payment of electricity bills.

Online shopping, online bills payment, and other online transactions have become much

of a trend during this pandemic. Many businesses have now realized the potential in doing online
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transactions. As such, the researchers recommend that SURSECO-I do the same. The researchers

propose an online payment system for SURSECO-I for three main reasons: 1.) It is fast, easy,

secure, reliable, and transparent; 2.) It lessens the physical burden for both SURSECO-I and their

customers; and 3.) It is the future of business transactions.

V. Conclusion

The COVID-19 not only has consequences for the people’s health and society. It has also

affected the economy which led to dramatic changes in how businesses act, and consumers

behave. Due to the pandemic, the consumers of SURSECO-I have experienced difficulty in

paying bills. The reason for this inconvenience is that SURSECO-I still conforms to the

traditional way of paying.

It is without a doubt that technology has made it easier to collect and analyze data. Upon

gathering data, the researchers were able to analyze the current payment process of SURSECO-I.

It was concluded that the current payment process of SURSECO-I does not provide other

payment options such as online payment. Since social distancing has been implemented in

health and safety protocols, the researchers have proposed an automated system that would

improve the payment process of SURSECO-I.

Automation provides businesses all the tools needed to monitor data at all times. It

provides precise data and projections regarding the business’ future needs and income. Thus,

through the use of this proposed automated online payment system, SURSECO-I will be able to:

1.) Offer other payment methods; 2.) Lessen the waiting time when paying bills; and 3.) Cater to

the preferred payment options of their customers.

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VI. References

[1] Sumanjeet, S. (2009). Emergence of Payment Systems in the Age of Electronic

Commerce: The State of Art. Global Journal of International Business Research, 2(2)

[2] Coombs, C. (2020). Will COVID-19 be the tipping point for the Intelligent Automation

of work? A review of the debate and implications for research. International Journal of
Information Management, 55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102182

[3] Donthu, N., Gustafsson, A. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on business and research.

Journal of Business Research, 177, 284-289.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.008

[4] Basingan, D. (2020). Huge surge in e-payments during Philippine lockdown. NNA

Business News. Retrieved from https://english.nna.jp/articles/16039

[5] Endo, J. (2020). Digital payment grows in Philippines amid COVID-19 fears. Nikkei

Asia. Retrieved from https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Digital-payment-

grows-in-Philippines-amid-COVID-19-fears